On Alligators and the Law

If you haven’t noticed that wild animals are all over the news today, you’ve clearly started hibernating in your dark cave a bit on the early side. But we’ve come across one with a legal spin that holds some intrigue.

According to the LA Times, the Georgia Supreme Court agreed to hear the grisly case of 83-year-old Gwyneth Williams who was house-sitting for relatives in 2007 in a Savannah subdivision when an alligator attacked and killed her.

Her family sued the subdivision’s homeowners’ association, saying it should have done a better job keeping visitors safe in the area where alligators were common. A key issue in the case: should the “animals ferae naturae” doctrine shield the association. . .